


the sun, the moon, and the stars

by changkkungie



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Huang Ren Jun is Whipped, M/M, he thinks about his crushes :-(, renjun centric !!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-16
Updated: 2019-01-16
Packaged: 2019-10-11 09:35:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,530
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17444378
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/changkkungie/pseuds/changkkungie
Summary: nothing like some good norenmin. follow me on twitter heartjisungie





	the sun, the moon, and the stars

**Author's Note:**

> nothing like some good norenmin. follow me on twitter heartjisungie

when renjun thinks of jeno, he thinks of the sun.

maybe not like donghyuck, who could be considered a summer kind of sun; the tan boy radiates warmth and joy and endless excitement. but maybe an autumn kind of sun, cool and sweet and still very warm, but maybe more tranquil. he's very relaxed, so calm and collected yet he has so many funny quirks.

jeno is handsome, but in a cute way. he has the kind of personality that renjun becomes a magnet to, that he becomes stable with (and a mess without). when jeno smiles, his sun shines, his eyes squeezing shut and his perfect teeth flashing. he's gentle and sweet, and there really isnt one imperfection to spot within jeno, everything about him is beautiful inside and out.

he is a good, balanced combination. he's calm but knows how to have fun, relaxed but exciting, mature yet silly, warm and kind, a true definition of an ambivert; he can adapt to all kinds of environments like some kind of social chameleon.

he knew when something wasn't right and how to help calm renjun down, he knew renjun through and through, like the back of his hand. jeno was selfless and caring, always better with his words than his actions, straightforward and to the point. he was popular, but in the subtle way, him knowing everyone and everyone knowing him.

donghyuck's an overbearing kind of sunshine, but jeno was just right. 

when renjun thinks of himself, he thinks of the moon.

he's quiet and shy and only opens up when he's comfortable, when his hundreds of rounds of walls are all knocked down one by one. it takes a lot of patience to get to know him, the kind of patience that jeno and jaemin have.

renjun considers himself the stereotypical introvert, preferring to stay inside and read and enjoy hot drinks instead of living it up at a party with hundreds of other high school teens. he has a close, tight knit small group of friends, and he doesn't need to be around lots of people constantly to thrive, although when it comes to his best friends it is welcome.

he's picky and stubborn and has a bad temper, he has trust issues and can't seem to hold his tongue when he has something negative to say. he's oversensitive, faint-hearted and defensive, he isnt good with his words at all, only knows how to express through touch and loves being alone but hates feeling lonely.

but renjun knows that deep down, if he really looks into himself, he could find good qualities about himself. he has mediocre looks, an average haircut, a decent body and an okay smile, and people compliment that he's cute often. he can sing and play guitar, and if his awards and performances are anything to go by, he's pretty good at ballet. he can speak both korean and chinese, too, and he's an overachiever, so he definitely has the brains. he also has a tendency to put others before himself, sometimes its a good thing and sometimes its bad.

he always gives jeno his milk and the rest of his food to jaemin at lunch. he takes pictures of his notes for jaemin and helps jeno study for his tests. he stays up late at night for either one of them to listen to them and comfort them. it makes him feel shy when his friends tell him he's a good friend, because as far as he knows, he's really just trying his best.

sometimes renjun overworks himself or forgets to take care of himself, and thats when jeno and jaemin come in to help nurse him back to health. they remind him that sometimes he needs to be more responsible for himself.

renjun isn't perfect, but maybe he is above average. just good enough. 

when renjun thinks of jaemin, he thinks of the stars.

jaemin is cute and pretty and likable. he's outgoing and loud and flirty and has a dazzling smile and sparkly eyes. he's a boy of many talents, he's good at soccer and talking to people and making friends.

he was blessed with some kind of miracle of being able to be good with words and actions, he's good hearted and attractive in every aspect, and its so unfair. its to the point where you ask yourself, is he real? does this boy have any flaw? and the answer is, of course not. he's just na jaemin.

it doesn't even matter that jaemin struggles in school. sometimes he finishes off the quarter with grades ranging from D to B, while jeno is usually satisfied with his honor roll, and renjun kicks himself for having one high B amongst his straight A's. jaemin has a mind that's constantly bouncing off the walls, ever since he was a little kid he'd been struggling with just sitting down and focusing on his work.

it wasn't like jaemin could help it, his hyperactive brain keeping him up at night and talking to his classmates during lectures, so that's probably why renjun felt so obligated to help him. seeing the smile on his face as he finally gets a B on his essay, or how he passes the semester with C's and B's, it all felt amazing knowing that he helped his best friend achieve that.

it wasn't really a problem, since jaemin got along with all of his peers and all of his teachers. everyone in the school loved him, it was something renjun envied but adored all the same. he reminds himself every day that he's lucky for jaemin to like him a little more than the rest of the people he's friends with.

jeno and jaemin are similar in these things, they're popular and eccentric and adorable. donghyuck and jaemin are both troublemakers and yet still somehow get away with everything through one smile, but jaemin is just different.

now that he thinks about it, renjun realizes how much he loves and appreciates them, how its always different with them, how much he needs them. they balance each other out so well, they're the constants in his life that he needs in order to survive. while renjun doesn't like being in crowds of people, jaemin cant live without it, and jeno sometimes craves it. renjun does need to get out of his house more, and his two friends help him with that. when something's wrong with renjun, jeno calms him down, while jaemin helps out as best as he can, whether it be helping him formulate sentences and coax him into telling them whats wrong, or coming up with a pleasant distraction.

jaemin is so cute and jeno is so handsome, they both have wonderful personalities and renjun loves them so dearly.

but just how much?

renjun blinks from staring at the ceiling.

he sits up and looks to the other side of the room, where he has a space on the wall for pictures of him, jaemin, and jeno, just like how he has a space for those boys in his heart. seeing their smiles warms renjun up so sweetly, the heat in his heart travels up to his face and ears, and he catches himself blushing.

this feeling is so foreign yet so familiar, he's just never taken it into consideration, what he feels for his best friends.

it started out innocent, renjun being brand new to korea and high school, jeno ending up being his little guide for the week and jaemin coincidentally in half of his classes. it was like he got sucked into jaemin's friendliness, and he had to admit that when he found out jaemin is nice like that to everyone (thanks, chenle), it felt disappointing, like he was just another student he talked to. but he didn't know why he was disappointed, jaemin was just another student at the school. renjun is afraid of attachment.

and that's when renjun clung to jeno, who, admittedly, was a lot more humble than jaemin. it felt like a privilege, jeno offering to ditch his friend group to sit with renjun at lunch, just the two of them at an empty table, instead of renjun being alone with his books, studying korean. those first days, renjun learned how sweet jeno's laughter is, his hobbies and his personality behind his handsome, stoic face.

after that, jeno offered his phone number, and then invited him to sit with his friend group, which renjun hesitantly complied. it was probably the best decision of his life.

it was so easy being around the six boys, especially jaemin and jeno. it wasn't much of a shock finding out jaemin and jeno were friends (probably because they were well known for being friends with everyone). they were all talkative and fun to be with, and yet jeno and jaemin were still different.

it took lots and lots of time for the two to surpass renjun's reserved stage, but they managed to tear through the older's guards with much patience and kindness. soon, they got closer and closer, and then they started visiting each others houses and spending weekends hanging out together.

jaemin's knack for photography is exactly why he has that wall of pictures. jeno's quick thinking brain came up with over half of the places they went to to spend time with each other. there are even some pictures that jaemin took of renjun during his ballet performances. it was a strange sense of pride, finally having somebody other than his mom congratulating him for doing well on his ballet. now, renjun walks on stage like he wants to impress them.

he picks up his phone, smiling at the lockscreen; a candid picture of jaemin's birthday party, jeno smiling lovingly at the younger as the candles of the cake illuminate only their faces in the dark room, the bodies of their other friends a mere background. he swipes and enters his messaging app.

there's only one person he can talk to about this.

me: mark hyung :-(

me: please help me !!!

he flops onto his bed and waits for a reply. almost instantly, he sees the chat bubble.

milk_in_bags: whats wrong ?

me: i dont really know

milk_in_bags: well thats not really helpful

me: you never let me finish typing >:-(

me: i think i might like somebody

milk_in_bags: you ??? huang renjun ??? the chinese transfer student focused completely on grades and ballet ?? crushing on someone ????? who are you and what have you done to my friend

me: shut up !!!

me: you dont understand

me: i think i like two people at once

milk_in_bags: i think im having a stroke

milk_in_bags: did jisung hack your account again

me: no i promise its me hyung !!!! i really do think i like these people and youre not helping :-(

milk_in_bags: okay sorry

milk_in_bags: stroke over

milk_in_bags: do we both know them

me: yess

milk_in_bags: ....are they in our friend group

me: :-( yeah

milk_in_bags: its jaemin isnt it

me: thats 1/2

milk_in_bags: and jeno ??

me: bingo :-(

milk_in_bags: thats not a very big deal you know..

me: yes it is !!!! youre so insensitive

me: theyre my best friends hyung :-(

milk_in_bags: ohh injunnie !

milk_in_bags: you would be surprised :)

me: ?????

[milk_in_bags is offline]

well, that didnt help at all.

sighing, renjun switches to the groupchat with him, jaemin and jeno.

me: hey guysss

nana: hi junniee :P

nono: yay youre alive

nana: i was just about to ask if you guys wanna hang out today

me: sure ^^

nono: yeahh where

nana: my house at 5 ?

nono: okayyy

me: see you soon :-)

☼☾✩

when renjun arrives at jaemin's house, jeno is already inside with a bag of family sized chips in his lap. jaemin's face lights up when he answers the door.

"you're finally here! what took you so long? your ears and nose are bright red," is the youngest's greeting, his hand taking his arm and urging him inside. jeno smiles at him with a closed mouth, his cheeks full of food.

"it takes a while to walk from my hou—" renjun starts, and jaemin interrupts him with a frown. "i told you to stop walking. its too cold for that now, and you wore the smallest hoodie you have!"

"my only clean hoodie," the chinese boy shrugs, and jaemin rolls his eyes as he leads renjun to the kitchen, pot in hand. he runs the tap and pours water into the pot and then sets it on the stove.

"ramen?" jeno's voice comes from the living room. "yeah," jaemin answers, turning the notches, renjun watching silently from his seat on the island counter.

jaemin can't stay quiet, he can't handle silence at all, so he hums as he cooks, him and jeno sharing a conversation from across the house about the beef ramen obviously being better than the pork ramen, and so renjun lets his thoughts run wild about his worries from earlier.

he, jaemin, and jeno are a package deal, really. one is not found without the other two often, especially after jeno changed his schedule during winter break to line up better with jaemin and renjun's, a risk renjun is thankful he was willing to take so they'd all see each other more often. maybe renjun is especially grateful because he needed the warmth. jaemin and jeno are naturally, somehow warmer people, physically and emotionally, and he thinks they know it, cause they use it to their advantage with him a lot. especially jeno with the endless skinship.

renjun feels his face get hot at the thought of it— donghyuck is always the one that gets called out for always touching somebody (somebody most of the time being mark), but nobody seems to notice how much jeno clings. he's always playing with jaemin's hair, or fiddling with renjun's fingers.

its some kind of grounding thing, renjun always assumes, some kind of physical comfort.

its alright though, renjun never really minded. and as far as he knows, jaemin eats it up. but jaemin has always been one for flirting, and renjun thinks jeno knows that, and that's why he's always tugging his ears or pinching his arms and legs lightly, just to get a different reaction out of him that isn't a wink or a flustering smirk.

thats another thing, too. jaemin has a way with his attitude and actions and he takes full advantage of it, he knows exactly what it does to people (and people being most of the time jeno and renjun). its a bit embarrassing, but its just jaemin being jaemin.

sometimes he wonders if it is jaemin being jaemin, though. renjun catches himself always freezing and always forgetting his jackets and jaemin always seems to spawn right next to him with his own hoodie tugged off and offered to the eldest. renjun knows that jaemin does the same for jeno, but he's never really seen him do it for jisung or mark or donghyuck. maybe they just wont fit his size?

and jeno acts weird, too, he usually smiles at renjun with his eyes squeezed into little happy lines and grabs his hands, rubbing them with his own so the friction can heat them up. but when jeno's face gets close to his own, renjun warms up perfectly fine. jeno and jaemin mean a lot to him, they make renjun's heart race, and they complete him. and maybe he loves them.

renjun shivers, going back to focus on jaemin flicking the rest of the powdered flavor out of the packet, instead of staring at the fridge and into space, thinking about snuggling into jaemin's warm hoodie and looking into jeno's sparkly eyes when the younger grins at him. renjun blushes, and jaemin turns to look back at him at the worst possible time.

"you look either upset or sick," jaemin smiles, but renjun knows he's concerned, and he hates it. "why does your face look red and constipated?"

"i'm not constipated," renjun rolls his eyes, gripping the edge of the counter stubbornly. "i'm just— nevermind."

"tell me," the younger says simply. renjun shakes his head, as difficult as ever, "there's nothing to tell. i'm fine."

"your brother didn't raise you to be a liar," jaemin hums, grabbing a large pair of chopsticks and plucking noodles out of the pot to place into three bowls. one of them has an acrylic, glazed moomin on it with pajamas and a night hat. there are little gray crescent moons painted all around it. it's renjun's.

"be right back," renjun sighs as a reply instead, and hops off the counter, jaemin watching him as he goes down the hallway.

instead of going to the bathroom, renjun decides to hide away in the extra bedroom to calm down. he pushes open the slightly cracked door and finds jeno there, holding a piece of paper in his hands. there's a deep blush on the younger's face, and his eyes are wide, and renjun doesn't even remember jeno leaving the living room—

"injunnie, what are you doing here?!" jeno yelps, hiding the paper behind his back. renjun answers his question with a question, "what is that?"

"i— what, this?" jeno holds out the paper, laughs nervously, and he sees a flash of a long paragraph, "ah, um, just something i found. o-on jaemin's des—"

"what're you guys doing?" jaemin asks from behind renjun. the oldest jumps, "oh my god, don't scare me like tha—"

"jeno, why do you have that?!" jaemin shrieks, face pale. "i, you know what, first of all, we need to stop interrupting each other," renjun starts.

but suddenly, jeno is walking forward, holding the paper high up in the air (fuck jeno and his height advantage), jaemin also pushing forward to reach for it, begging for him to give it back, and now renjun is squeezed between jeno and jaemin in the middle of a doorway and their bodies are really really warm against his and he feels like he's suffocating. "we need to talk about this," jeno says, voice flat, although his face is bright red, and renjun glances over his shoulder to find jaemin tight lipped and equally flushed.

"what the fuck," renjun hisses, "get off of me," he grunts, hands against jeno's shoulders as jaemin's reluctantly slide off his waist. jeno still has that piece of paper in his hand.

"sit down, both of you," the oldest orders, and they both hesitantly move away, back into the bedroom. jaemin tries to snag the paper back, humiliation and embarrassment evident on his face, but jeno is too quick, holding it away from him again. "god, just listen to me! whatever's in that note obviously needs to be discussed," renjun tells them. jeno sits at the chair desk while jaemin sits on his bed, back against the wall.

"what is it?" renjun asks when the room becomes too tense with the silence.

"i, listen, i can explain—" jaemin starts.

"it looks like a love letter to me," jeno answers before the youngest can finish his sentence.

a love letter. it nags at renjun's ears. his mouth tastes sour. he grimaces, but conceals it, hoping not to let it show, "for who?"

"no, listen, d-don't take this the wrong way," the youngest pleads, but jeno hands it to him, again, talking over jaemin, "its, erm, you gotta read it for yourself."

"jeno, its none of my busi..." renjun trails off when he sees 'dear jun and nono,' mind blank and heart picking up speed by the second.

i've been holding this in for a while, and i feel like you guys should just know,

holy shit.

..that i've had a crush on you two for a long time...

holy shit.

...i hope this doesn't change anything between us. actually, i hope you guys feel the same, although i don't know that would work...

holy shit.

renjun looks up at jaemin, "y-you... you like us too?" he mutters. he hates how shaky his voice is, but he could care less on controlling it.

"i— wait, what?!" jeno gasps. "i've liked you guys for forever! you should've said something way sooner!"

"wait, you're kidding me right?" jaemin yells. renjun winces, pinches the bridge of his nose. "if you liked us, you should've said something first!"

"i was going to, and that's why i came in here, i was gonna give myself a fucking pep talk until i peek over at your desk and there's a giant ass heart sticker on an envelope just sitting there," jeno replies.

"you never mind your own business," jaemin argues back, "that would've been a decent confession if you didn't have to ruin it."

"i didn't ruin anything! in fact, i just set us up—"

"shut up, both of you!" renjun interrupts them, "i love you both but you never stop arguing!"

"you're the smart one here," jaemin rolls his eyes, "who's mostly in the wrong?"

"that doesn't matter! get up and kiss me, either one of you, right now!" the oldest cries, and he snaps his mouth shut, feels himself blushing to his ears. jeno and jaemin immediately leap up at the opportunity, and renjun's heart leaps as jaemin takes his wrist at the same time as jeno grabs his face with both hands.

jaemin's hand quickly pushes jeno's head away, and he swoops in to kiss him, but he misses, only getting the corner of his mouth. renjun is too stunned to react, and then jeno comes into jaemin's face, effectively preventing the youngest from kissing renjun by kissing jaemin himself, and renjun feels extremely warm watching them.

when they pull away, jaemin has that smirk on his face, and jeno is beet red, and renjun can't take it, he wants to tuck them in his pockets and pinch their (blushing) cheeks. swiftly, renjun moves in and kisses jaemin on the mouth, and then switches to peck jeno's lips.

they taste distinctly different, but also like each other, jaemin sweet and jeno warm, and it squeezes renjun's heart because truthfully, he can't believe this is happening. all of his fears are solved, all of his questions and concerns answered—

"you taste like mint," jeno blurts. "m-me?" is renjun's intelligent response, and jaemin and jeno both giggle in sync, and renjun thinks, oh my god. "jaemin is sweet, though," jeno continues, "i like it."

"this is too much," renjun whines, and why is he so embarrassed? it's not like he hasn't thought about this on the daily. "why? jeno kisses really nicely. he tastes like hot chocolate."

"i was just drinking—" the second youngest tries to reply, but jaemin kisses him again, and then pulls renjun and jeno into his warm, comfortable arms. jeno laughs and now renjun can finally stare in awe, he can watch jeno's eyes squeeze shut with the force of his beautiful smile, and he feels jaemin rub his back, up and down soothingly.

"we're dumb," jeno concludes. "and gay."

"hmm, maybe, but now i get to kiss you guys whenever i want," jaemin shrugs, arms still wrapped around their waists. renjun's arms copies him. "god, i thought your flirting was bad," renjun tuts, "now im guessing you like kissing better?"

"only if its you two," the youngest winks, and renjun can feel jeno melt, the raven haired boy hiding his face in renjun's neck, mumbling something about "god save him now."

"you love it," renjun tells him, resting his cheek against the crown of jeno's head, because he knows he does. jeno has always gotten shy because of jaemin's bold words. jaemin just grins at them and presses a long kiss to renjun's cheek.

"don't make out without me," jeno muffles into renjun's neck. "we won't. but i wanna make out still, so please cool down faster," renjun giggles.

teasingly, jaemin kisses him, very faintly, leaving renjun wanting more. he's buzzing with excitement and love, so he goes in for another kiss, chasing after jaemin's lips, who smirks again before giving renjun what he wants. jeno finally moves away from the eldest's neck, and jaemin seems to notice, because he moves to kiss renjun's cheek and temple so that jeno can have his turn.

its different than jaemin's kisses, but the electrifying feeling is all the same, and he shivers because of it. "hm, do you still wanna eat the ramen i worked so hard to make?" jaemin asks quietly.

"nah," jeno mumbles against renjun's lips, kissing him again before looking at jaemin, "i'd rather do this all day."

"wouldn't your mouth hurt after a while?" renjun asks, and he's overcome with embarrassment from how breathless he sounds.

"worth it," jeno shrugs, and renjun notices he accidentally adopted jaemin's smirk. he shies away to protect himself from any further eye contact. jaemin giggles and kisses jeno's ear.

"did you ever finish reading the letter?" jaemin asks. both of them shake their heads. "we don't need to, i think we get it now," renjun answers.

later that night, they lay in the bed of the extra bedroom, because jaemin's is too small for the three of them. the window's blinds are open, and the stars and moon are out in view. jaemin's chest is against renjun's own, jeno pressed against his back. jeno's arm encases around renjun's waist out to jaemin's and sandwiches them all together, while jaemin's legs tangle with theirs.

"well, today turned out way different from how i expected it would," renjun mumbles. jeno moves closer to talk quietly in his ear, making renjun get chills down his arms, "what do you mean?"

"i dunno," the eldest mumbles, and jaemin blinks down at him, "i just kinda thought about our relationship this morning, and within fifteen minutes of talking everything changed."

"you think about us a lot?" the youngest smiles. renjun nods timidly. "don't laugh at it. its embarrassing."

"it's relatable," jeno remarks, "i think about you guys all day."

"alright, so i wasn't the only one," jaemin laughs, and they both join him. "i wish tonight would last forever," renjun hums honestly.

"it's summer. we'll make every night like this," jaemin promises. renjun feels jeno press a kiss to the back of his head, before tucking his face into the juncture of his shoulder. "cute baby," jaemin mumbles, reaching up to grace jeno's cheekbone with his knuckles, a look of pure adoration on his face. "i know, right?" renjun replies, and jeno groans, hiding his face deeper. "it's cute when he gets shy," renjun continues, just for good measure.

"truly," jaemin mumbles, and kisses renjun. "goodnight injunnie."

"goodnight. goodnight jeno," renjun turns slightly to look at the younger. he feels jeno's lips press against the back of his neck. "goodnight. i love you both," he says, and it stuns the other two.

jeno loves him, renjun thinks, lee jeno loves him.

"i love you guys too," jaemin replies, closing his eyes and maneuvering so he can rest his head on renjun's chest.

and na jaemin loves him too.

"i love you two very much," renjun tells them, voice thick with emotion and sincerity. jeno's arms squeeze a little tighter around them.

jeno is the sun and jaemin is the stars, but maybe they help renjun's moon shine.


End file.
